Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Maryland Terrapins
Saturday, 11/12/11, 7:30 PM EST, TV: NBC
Opening Point Spread: Notre Dame -20.5
Current Betting Line: Notre Dame -20.5
Opening Total: 56.5
Current Total: 56.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Notre Dame has won six of its last seven games and comes in as one of 10 teams nationally to rank in the top 40 in total offense, total defense, scoring offense and scoring defense. The Fighting Irish will be playing this game inside FedExField in Landover, Maryland, which could be an advantage due to the amount of fans that will likely travel to the neutral site. This will be only the second time that these two teams have met, with the Fighting Irish tallying a 22-0 win in 2002 inside Giants Stadium. Notre Dame is 3-5 ATS as a favorite of 10.5 to 21 points.
The Fighting Irish offense has come away with 15 touchdowns in their last 17 trips inside the red zone in a four-game span. Notre Dame’s biggest problem the entire year has been holding onto the football, tied for 108th in the country in turnovers lost and tied for last in turnover margin. Sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees has thrown 17 touchdowns on the year, but also 10 interceptions. The running game has been dynamic with duo Jonas Gray and Cierre Wood, rushing for 594 and 808 yards respectively.
Maryland dropped a 31-13 contest to the Virginia Cavaliers on Senior Day as three-point home underdogs, which served as its fifth straight loss. The Terrapins will be looking to win this game on the ground with the 57th-ranked rushing offense nationally, led by quarterback C.J. Brown and running back Davin Meggett. The team has fallen flat this year due to sophomore signal-caller Danny O’Brien struggling from the beginning, but he’s still managing to split time with Brown. Maryland is 2-0 ATS in its last two games on a neutral field.
The Terrapins defense has been patched together due to numerous injuries, with as many as seven potential starters spending time off the field. Out of that group, three starters have actually been lost for the year. Maryland has faced a challenging schedule in head coach Randy Edsall’s first year in College Park, with its opponents being 61-38 combined through 10 weeks of the season. A few bright spots statistically is being sixth in college football in fewest penalties, while ranking second with 13 fumble recoveries.
Bettors will likely back the Fighting Irish due to their 4-1 ATS mark in November, while the Terrapins are 1-4 ATS as an underdog.
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